The present invention relates to a mail processing system; and in particular, to a modular mail processing method and control system.
Traditionally, mail processing systems are custom systems designed for a particular customer's needs. These systems are typically designed for high volume installations such as those that sort 30,000 to 40,000 pieces of mail per hour. With such large installations, custom designs to process either outgoing mail or internal mail are economically feasible. In these designs, the mail processing machinery and associated control system are fixed designs for the installation and are not easily modified for either future requirements or for the needs of other installations. Such custom designs are not economically practical for smaller installations that process in the range of 20,000 to 100,000 pieces of mail per day. There is therefore a need for a low cost, flexible processing system that can be inexpensively and quickly reconfigured to meet the needs of such low volume installations.